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Old article but do you agree? https://www.quora.com/Which-citizenship-is-the-hardest-to-obtain/answer/Ravindra-357 Here are eight countries where it's most difficult to become citizen : 1- Vatican City You can become a citizen if you are a cardinal living in the Vatican City or Rome, or if you live in Vatican City because you are an official worker of the Catholic Church. 2- Bhutan You can apply for the citizenship after living in the country for 20 years & you have to meet a list of requirements which includes no record of speaking or acting against the king or country. 3- Qatar If you have been a legal resident of Qatar for 25 years without leaving the country for more than two consecutive months, you can apply for the citizenship. Qatar only naturalizes about 50 foreigners a year. 4- Kuwait After living in Kuwait for 20 years or 15 years for citizens of other Arab countries, you can apply for the citizenship. But you have to be muslim by birth or converted. If you are converted, you must have been practicing for five years & have to speak Arabic fluently. 5- Liechtenstein If you want to become a citizen, you have to live in Liechtenstein for at least 30 years or if you are married to a Liechtenstein citizen & already lived in the country, then the time period is shortened to five years of marriage. 6- United Arab Emirates If you want a citizenship of UAE, you must have legally resided in the country for 30 years. Arab citizens from Oman, Qatar & Bahrain can apply for citizenship after three years of residency. Arabs from other countries are eligible for citizenship after seven years of residency. 7- Switzerland According to the new law of Switzerland, you must have to lived in the country for 10 years & have a working permit called a C permit. The C permit allows you to live & work in the country. 8- China The law of China allows the foreigners to become citizen of the country if they have relatives who are Chinese national, have settled in China. If you don’t have Chinese relatives in a country, your chances of becoming a Chinese citizen are less. https://www.quora.com/Which-country-gives-permanent-residency-the-fastest/answer/Ravindra-357 Here are five countries in which establishing permanent residency is easy : 1 - Belgium If you live in Belgium for five continuous years, you can apply for permanent residency. Becoming a citizen adds to that the ability to leave the country for more than two years at a time 2 - France You can get permanent residency or apply for citizenship after living in the country for five continuous years. A permanent residency is renewed after ten years that allows you the right to education, healthcare, and worker's rights at jobs, but doesn't allow you to vote. Obtaining France’s citizenship also makes you a citizen of the EU. 3 - Panama Panama is also very welcoming to those who are wealthy and those who want to invest in deforestation programs. Citizenship can only be obtained after five continuous years of residency or three years for foreign spouses of Panamanian citizens. 4 - Singapore Singapore is one of the easiest countries in which a permanent residency has been estabilished. All you have to do is to apply for an employment pass, be the spouse or child of a Singapore citizen, plan to make an investment in the country, or you just have to be a permanent resident of the country for two or more years. 5 - Brazil If you plan to invest at least $50,000 in a business or real estate of the country, you can apply for an Investor’s Visa. Or you must have resided in the country continuously for 10 to 15 years for getting the permanent residency.

https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2023/07/salary-guide-2023/index.html?shell I am poor. ccb pap.

https://content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/singapore-employment-salary-2023-outlook-industries/ Our job market may look healthy, but there are headwinds on the horizon for Singaporean employees and jobseekers. Without sugar-coating it, there are three significant headwinds affecting Singapore’s job market outlook. The global economic downturn where the cyclical changes will reduce employment opportunities. The ongoing pandemic crisis is still uncertain in its trajectory and may linger on for some time. Technological disruptions, particularly digitalisation, will continue to induce structural changes that make jobs and skills redundant. That said, it’s not entirely all doom and gloom for local employees and jobseekers, though there are indicators that Singapore’s labour market is slowing down with economic growth numbers. According to figures released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in November 2022, Singapore’s economic growth is expected to slow to 0.5 to 2.5% in 2023, due to global uncertainties, down from the projected 3.5% growth in 2022. Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower revealed in an October 2022 report: “In the coming months, a deteriorating global economic environment, higher global inflation, as well as geopolitical tensions could affect the labour market outlook. “Some unevenness in employment growth may emerge across sectors”, they elaborated. On the numbers front, there was a “slight uptick” in unemployment rates, and a rise in retrenchments, though both remained on par with pre-Covid levels. What’s the big picture that affects Singapore’s job market outlook? Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance and Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre Switzerland, shared his take with Workipedia by MyCareersFuture: “From the economic standpoint, there are two main uncertainties. “The first one is the global economic crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine and the disruption of global supply chains. “Its effects on inflation and growth are heard everywhere, including Singapore. As an economy that relies on foreign trade, it is extremely sensitive. “The second uncertainty pertains to China and the negative worrying signals from the Asian giant. In particular, there are concerns about the growth prospects of China and its preference to grow its domestic market instead of relying on neighbouring countries.” Which Singapore hiring industries could see headwinds in 2023? In fact, according to a Business Times report, Maybank analyst Chua Hak Bin noted that many sectors, such as hospitality, construction and healthcare, are still experiencing acute labour shortages. For Singaporean workers, recent employment number gains came from industries such as information and communications, professional services, and financial services. However, the MOM report states that administrative and support services saw a sustained decline, “partly reflecting the gradual scale-back of Covid-related occupations”. MTI also reported that weaker economic sentiments would weigh on the growth of outward-oriented sectors in Singapore, such as our electronics and chemicals clusters. That said, the ministry expects that Singapore’s strong recovery in air travel and international visitor arrivals will continue to benefit sectors related to aviation and tourism. This includes air transport, arts, entertainment and recreation, and consumer-facing sectors like food and beverage services. Lifting of travel restrictions in Singapore and the region has also boosted the recovery of the professional services sector. Professor Lawrence Loh, from NUS Business Schools’ Department of Strategy and Policy, said to Workipedia by MyCareersFuture: “In view of the international economic outlook, particular industries in Singapore like manufacturing and financial services will be significantly challenged due to weaker demands in 2023. “While industries affected by the pandemic such as aviation and travel have been recovering, these have to be continually on the alert for any unexpected new twist in the situation. “Moving into next year, as always, technology will almost always have impacts on organisational structures and products, as well as individual jobs and skills.” “This will happen across a broad spectrum of industries, particularly those that are manually driven such as retail, hospitality and even financial services.” What about 2023 salaries, then? 2023 looks to be a mixed bag when it comes to salaries, according to Mercer’s recently released Total Renumeration Survey (TRS). The flagship annual compensation and benefits benchmarking study identifies key remuneration trends and predictions for hiring and pay for 2023. Over 1000 Singapore-based companies participated in this year’s survey. While local employers anticipate salary increases in 2023 to surpass pre-pandemic levels, inflation is also depressing sentiment, with more than half of the companies in Singapore (54%) adopting a wait-and-see approach to their salary budgets. “Employers remain cautious about bumping up wages to match inflation,” said Mansi Sabharwal, Reward Products Leader at Mercer Singapore. “And many are turning to less permanent solutions such as benchmarking competition to stay competitive in the market (70%), focusing on total rewards communication (69%) and increasing wages of lower-income employees (55%).” Some other key findings from Mercer’s report on salaries revealed which industries could have the highest salary increments as below: Logistics: (4.4%) Banking and Finance (4.27%) Tech (4.06%) Real Estate (3.25%) The aerospace industry is also forecasted to see improvement, with salary increments expected to rise from 3.09% to 3.52% in 2023, given global travel continues to gain momentum in the aftermath of Covid-19. Working in an industry that might slow down? Here’s some advice Associate Prof. Trevor Yu, from the College of Business’ (Nanyang Business School) Division of Leadership, Management & Organisation, shared the below advice: Take a proactive look at your current skill set and project what areas you need to develop and upskill in the next few years. Consider also whether it is time to explore other options in faster-growing sectors like those listed above and what steps are needed to reskill for possible career changes and transitions. Finally, how much meaning do you derive from your current job role? Do you feel engaged both physically and psychologically? What steps can you take to craft or negotiate a better situation at work so that you can give the best that your talent can offer? Prof. Loh concludes: “There are two perennial challenges for jobs – creations and displacements – both of which will be critically influenced by the job market headwinds. “For organisations, especially those more vulnerable to the headwinds, continued transformation is the way forward – it is key to constantly adapt, innovate and strive for resilience. “As such, no skill will remain relevant forever – in fact, the shelf life for skills is getting shorter and shorter. “For workers at all levels, capability development is the surest solution – it is imperative to always upskill and reskill!”

pls do not judge ... i am just asking what your employers are/would be doing as i do not want mine to get into trouble also. in the last Q&A, MTI and MOM said they will be telling some essential services providers(ESP) to further reduce active head count even though they are ESP. let's say your coy has 100 staff and are told to reduce active head count by 50%, what are the criteria that you would use to decide which staff goes home for the time being ? and do you still continue to pay those who are told to stop work ? would it be unfair to those who have to continue going to work at the workplace. we are 3PL - meaning we provide manpower who does physical work .... not possible to WFH ... eg, how to deliver goods if WFH ? I uderstand that the govt has the wgae support program to help defray the cost of salary for the coy. But again, will the working staff feel its unfair if their colleagues are paid to SAH ? I doubt we will be allowed to "rotate" who works and who SAH ? I don't need to know what is morally right but need to know what is legally right. * i am still waiting to see if we receive the reduction instruction from MTI.

https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/in-your-opinion-podcast-does-a-family-of-4-in-spore-really-need-6426-a-month-for-a-basic-standard-of-living-pt-1 In Your Opinion Podcast: Does a family of 4 in S'pore need $6,426 a month for basic living standard? Synopsis: The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, the first of two parts, she looks at whether a family of four in Singapore needs $6,426 a month for a basic standard of living. In the studio to explain the study and its methodology are Associate Professor Teo You Yenn of the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University; and Dr Ng Kok Hoe, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Case Study Unit at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Highlights (click/tap above): 00:41: Is there a household budget that captures the lived realities of Singaporeans? What is the Minimum Income Standard? 04:55: Addressing criticisms of the study and its methodology 10:00 How is the Minimum Income Standard applied in the United Kingdom, and how does the UK decide what is a living wage? https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/thinking-aloud-6426-a-month-for-basic-standard-of-living-study-on-family-budgets-must-be Does a family of 4 really need $6,426 a month for a basic standard of living? It depends It is about what people feel they need to be socially accepted, not just what they can afford For a few years, money at home was tight. I did not go on overseas field trips or to the cinema, and made excuses to skip class gatherings at restaurants. Each missed activity meant one less shared experience and common talking point - and one step closer to feeling as if I did not belong. This is where the minimum income standard (MIS) approach, which relies on public consensus and not just expert opinion, comes in.

https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/buying-car-you-need-be-earning-least-8850-first?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1--IIChlz5jayZDU3Ye6xp5AvpjFScyOe0Lzae5eaholn3gXRyGx47etg#Echobox=1648628907

Let's start with their big houses

AWARE ... wan sui wan sui wan wan sui ... no $20K no talk ...

i saw jobs posting, $1700 for f&b service crew this include $1700 + 17% employer cpf? or gross $1400 + 17% employer cpf = $1700 gross?

someone told me that the combined salary is $80 million for all ministers, PM and president. Think abt it, guys. This is our money, our taxes, our CPF....... If you think they are doing such an amazing job in their portfolio, then go ahead vote for them. The horse man even dare to say that opposition wants to raid our reserves? Who is doing the raiding now??

Does anyone know much SAF regulars make a month? Is it true the LTCs and COLs make at least $10k +? What about fighter pilots? Junior officers?

Hi all, I think in singapore below jobs position salary: Engineer(Electrical/Electronic): S$3000 to 4000 Senior Engineer(Electrical/Electronic): S$4000 to 5000 Manager(Electrical/Electronic): S$5000 to 6000 Senior Manager(Electrical/Electronic): above S$6000 Do you guys think it's acceptable?

Just curious.....hehe Mod pls remove this poll if found inappropriate, thanks

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/05-month-mid-year-bonus-civil-servants Hope my company can follow :)) Everyone huat ah :))

Any one know? how much is the market rate for monetary per month to be justifiable for a engineer working in SA?

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/much-earn-above-singapore-average-000031337.html How much do you need to earn to be above Singapore’s “average”? Forbes has named Singapore as the third richest country in the world. This wealth is measured using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Simplistically, it adds up everyone’s income for the year – to obtain GDP – before dividing it by the country’s population. So how much should the “average” Singaporean be making based on this calculation? Read More: Singapore, world’s richest. At what cost? The golden number is $5,943! At end-2014, Singapore’s GDP was recorded at SGD390.1 billion with population size of 5.47 million (Singapore residents + foreign talents). Table 1: National Accounts and Population in Singapore FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 GDP(SGD mils) SGD 346,354 SGD 362,333 SGD 378,200 SGD 390,089 Population (mils) 5.18 5.31 5.40 5.47 GDP per Person SGD 66,816 SGD 68,205 SGD 70,048 SGD 71,318 Income per month SGD 5,568 SGD 5,684 SGD 5,837 SGD 5,943 Source: Singapore Department of Statistics Since simplistic GDP means adding up everyone’s income for the year, we will also assume that CPF contributions are included into this number. Add your gross salary (take home salary + CPF contribution) to your employer’s CPF contribution. If this number is not greater than SGD5,943, you are below the average amongst our population. Is $5,943 the correct number as the average wage? As mentioned, GDP per capita is a simple method to define how rich a country is by understanding how much everyone in the population earns per annum. However, using the entire population is not a good gauge, as children, students and retirees are not working, and hence should be excluded from the calculation. Table 2: National Accounts and Labour Force in Singapore FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 GDP (SGD mils) SGD 346,354 SGD 362,333 SGD 378,200 SGD 390,089 Labour Force (mils) 3.24 3.36 3.44 3.53 GDP per Worker SGD 106,995 SGD 107,779 SGD 109,824 SGD 110,482 Income per month SGD 8,916 SGD 8,982 SGD 9,152 SGD 9,207 Note: The labour force comprises of people who are working or seeking work Source: Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, Ministry of Manpower Using labour force instead of total population will be more accurate since we are basing our calculation only on those who are working. In this case, average wages inclusive of CPF contribution would be SGD9,207 per month per person. So what are your numbers telling me? If you are like us, then this number may appear exceedingly high to you, perhaps even unattainable. Do not worry, you’re not alone. The median salary in Singapore is SGD3,770. That means the majority of us are not earning the average. This is normal, as wages are usually skewed towards the higher income earners and thus medium hardly ever equates to mean. What you should make out of this number is that you have the potential to increase your wages. Unlike poorer countries, where your future growth in earnings would be easily capped by the low potential in the country, we do not lack this in Singapore. There is money to be made, somewhere and somehow, in Singapore. You just need to figure our where and how. If you require upgrading and improvements, do check out skillsfuture to see how can our government help you achieve better productivity and higher wage growth.

Had been driving B&B cars for past 15 over years, now just feel like buying a new better car price around $220k. Financially ok, of course much better than 15 year ago when i started first my job. Now married with 2 kids, no house loan, miscellaneous loan, no expensive holiday, no expensive dinning. Annually combined income 230k(PA), very stable job both wife and myself foresee our income should reach 300k(PA) at 5 years time easily. Feeling unsure now, will it considers "over stretching" for someone like me to buy a car at such price. Can't decide, maybe you guys can help and share some of your view. What do you think?

as above. quite long liaoz hor.... i need to prepare more $ for taxes thats y i ask....

After Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP said last week it would boost starting pay for its junior-most lawyers to $180,000, law firms across the country stumbled over themselves to announce salary increases for their own associates. But now companies are pushing back. Bank of America Corp.’s top lawyer recently sent an email to a group of law firms calling the increases in associate lawyer pay unjustified, making it clear the bank wouldn’t help firms absorb the cost. “While we respect the firms’ judgment about what best serves their long-term competitive interests, we are aware of no market-driven basis for such an increase and do not expect to bear the costs of the firms’ decisions,” David Leitch, Bank of America’s global general counsel, wrote in the email, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment. The latest law firm salary raises boosted first-year pay by 12.5%, and gave comparable hikes to the rest of the associate lawyer ranks. Pay generally went up by between $20,000 and $35,000 for every associate, topping out at salaries of $315,000 and above for the senior-most associates, typically with eight or nine years of experience. The chief litigation officer for a Fortune 100 company said $180,000 for a first-year isn’t justified, pointing by way of comparison to a lawyer in the company’s litigation department with 20 years of experience who doesn’t make that much money. “Why would we ever think a first-year associate is worth that?” the lawyer said, adding that they recently denied a firm’s request to charge $400 an hour for a first-year. The identities of the law firms that received Mr. Leitch’s message aren’t known, but the email appeared to target firms that handle the bank’s litigation. “We value the work performed by our Litigation Roundtable firms and seek to maintain a true partnership that meets our reciprocal needs—thoughtful, strategic, and cost-competitive representation at rates and alternative billing arrangements that are attractive to our counsel,” wrote Mr. Leitch. Advertisement The email ended by saying Mr. Leitch entrusts the firms who receive the email with its work because of their “legal expertise and entrepreneurial instinct,” and looks forward to continuing to partner with them. Like many other large companies, BofA has worked in recent years to reduce its legal spending; in 2013, the bank told the Association of Corporate Counsel it slimmed the number of firms it hires to defend it in litigation to 30 from around 700. Bank of America spent $1.2 billion on litigation in 2015, according to its earnings report. BofA has used firms including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP for big litigation matters in the past. Paul Weiss declined to comment. Representatives for Skadden and Cleary didn’t immediately return calls for comment. Cravath didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The push-and-pull over pay and rates has for decades been a source of tension between corporate legal departments and the law firms they hire. Historically, law firms charged their clients in only one way: by the hour. While many in-house lawyers grumbled about the arrangements, saying they encouraged inefficiency and led to eye-popping bills, they mostly paid them. But within the last decade or so, companies have pushed back. They now routinely demand “flat-fee” arrangements for a single piece of work, like a lawsuit or a transaction. And many have stopped paying for photocopies and legal research, items that were once rubber-stamped. In-house lawyers have also ramped up resistance to paying for the most junior lawyers, often saying they won’t pay for first- and second-year lawyers even if they are staffed on assignments. Such lawyers, the thinking goes, are too often billed out at hundreds an hour to perform relatively menial tasks, like reviewing documents. Not all in-house lawyers are railing against the raises. Edward Ryan, the global general counsel for Marriott International Inc., said he believes “law firms are responsible for their own cost structure” and that what ultimately matters is “the value of what we pay for.” That said, he questioned if clients will “take their business elsewhere” if law firms try to pass off the costs directly. Before Cravath raising its salaries, associate pay industrywide hadn’t budged in nearly a decade, a time during which law school tuition has skyrocketed, leaving many graduates with upward of $100,000 in debt. Many associates had complained to law-firm leaders that in recent years their pay scale had failed to keep up with cost-of-living increases. It isn’t entirely surprising that dozens of firms have followed Cravath’s lead and matched the new salary structure in recent days. Large law firms view keeping pace with market leaders like Cravath as part of staying competitive in recruiting and retaining their younger lawyers, even if their profits are lower and they operate in smaller markets.

Ideal salary for living in Singapore is S$6,000: survey http://www.jobstreet.com.sg/career-resources/80-singaporeans-happy-salary/

cannot imagine this is happening the news reported that the two women told the cleaner that he owe 'govt' money and took all his monthly salary $2000 and left $50 for his meals. i hope the old woman pay back (maybe in jail term) for what she did for past 15 years.

TUITION TEACHER !!!! Work 40-50hrs a week for an average of $800kpa!! Huat ah! Source: straits times 9 Nov 2014 Plse report your taxes hor, all you tuition teachers out there. Especially those driving luxury cars. Be careful.. Muayhahahahaha

MORE SINGAPOREANS IN DEBT TRAP Big spenders chalk up debts of more than a year's salary from splurging non-stop By Yasmine Yahya, The Sunday Times, 2 Nov 2014 It is so easy these days to shop online 24 hours a day, book a trip to Europe on an instalment plan or even make an appointment for cosmetic surgery in Seoul. So easy, in fact, that more Singaporeans are falling into the trap of overspending and chalking up massive debts. Just over half of those who sought help at Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) last year landed in debt after splurging on brand- name goods, holidays and clubbing, among other things. "Debtors usually have more than one reason. They may overspend and then become more vulnerable to get-rich-quick schemes, time shares or gambling, and one thing leads to another and the debt gets bigger and bigger," said CCS president Kuo How Nam. "But the first cause is usually overspending because many people are living lifestyles not justified by their incomes." There may be more than 40,000 people who owe more than a year's income from credit cards and other unsecured loans such as personal lines of credit or overdrafts. The Monetary Authority of Singapore estimates that 3 per cent of unsecured credit borrowers' debts exceed their annual incomes. Based on Credit Bureau (Singapore) data showing that 1.44 million people had at least one credit card account at the end of last year, The Sunday Times estimates there to be 43,000 people who had debts of more than a year's salary. Last year, the average debtor who turned to CCS for help owed $84,447 to seven creditors, but Mr Kuo said that figure is skewed by gamblers, who owe the biggest sums. Most others have debts in the tens of thousands of dollars, and they make up a big group. "A lot of it has to do with peer pressure or their own values. Some people say they feel they deserve to indulge themselves - they've worked hard, so they deserve to take more cab rides or a holiday even if they can't afford it," he said. "I asked a debtor once, 'Why did you carry on spending like this?' And the answer was that he was hopeful that some day his income would rise to a level where he could pay off his debt." Financial advisers say that is a common problem. SingCapital chief executive Alfred Chia said e-commerce has made it easy for people to use credit cards to shop round the clock, buying things they do not need. Even small purchases can add up. Travel-related temptations are also pervasive, he noted. "Some travel agencies have tied up with banks to offer trips to places like Europe on interest-free instalment plans so you can pay for your holiday over 12 or even 24 months," he noted. And if you do not make your monthly payments, you end up with interest charges and late fees. Financial planner Damian Pang notices that people are taking more holidays, including "staycations" at hotels in Singapore. "In the past, holidays were seen as a luxury but with so many budget flights now, people take two or three holidays a year. And in the past, we never had staycations. That's a norm now," he said. He is also seeing more clients going abroad, especially to South Korea, for cosmetic surgery. "That's the power of K-Pop. These trips can easily cost $10,000," he said. Financial advisers note that overspenders may not splash out on flying business class or staying at top hotels, but they do overspend on shopping or eating out. "They travel to exotic places, buy branded goods and dine at Michelin-starred restaurants," said Eternal Financial Advisory chief executive Viviena Chin. "The temptation is very high when you are overseas to go crazy shopping. Things are nicer or cheaper and you think you might not come back again soon, so just swipe the card and forget about tomorrow."

"....using horsepower to determine a car’s status is as logical as using a person’s hairstyle to determine his salary." Wahaha.....good one! https://sg.news.yahoo.com/fool-lta-143020130.html